Published on 25 Jul 2011
Validated on 08 Jan 2013
Customer:
A Large Automotive Manufacturer
Industry:
Automotive
Deployment country:
United States
Solution:
Business Intelligence, Information Governance, Master Data Management, Smarter Planet, Supply Chain Management
Smarter Planet:
Smarter Logistics, Smarter Manufacturing, Smarter Supply Chain
IBM Business Partner:
Zebra Technologies
Overview
A large automotive manufacturer transforms radio frequency identification data into business analytics and optimizes utilization of returnable containers when it engages IBM Lab Services and IBM Business Partner Zebra Technologies to implement a suite of business analytics solutions including IBM WebSphere Sensor Events, IBM Real-Time Asset Locator and IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server software, including the IBM Returnable Container Management Application.
Business need:
This large automotive manufacturer invests millions of dollars annually in reusable shipping containers. Optimizing their utilization, extending their life spans and tracking and analyzing their movements were critical, both from a bottom-line and operational perspective. Fifty company facilities were already equipped with plant-based Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems, but extrapolating business analytics—the state, condition and utilization of containers within the facility—from raw RFID data was a manual, spreadsheet-based process.
Solution:
RFID has proven to be an invaluable tool in asset tracking and supply chain management. With new asset management systems configured to leverage the company’s previous investment in active RFID tags and RFID readers, the company is able to gain actionable business intelligence from real-time container tracking data. The automated asset management system aggregates all locations and container serial numbers of both ingoing and outgoing containers at every step of a container’s journey through the supply chain, providing decision makers with the current location of each container.
Benefits:
• Reduces capital costs by optimizing the utilization of returnable containers and eliminating the purchase of unnecessary containers, achieving ROI in less than 12 months
• Provides real-time insights into supply chain performance, increasing operational efficiency
• Reduces capital expenditures by optimizing the utilization of returnable containers
Case Study
A large automotive manufacturer transforms radio frequency identification data into business analytics and optimizes utilization of returnable containers when it engages IBM Lab Services and IBM Business Partner Zebra Technologies to implement a suite of business analytics solutions including IBM WebSphere Sensor Events, IBM Real-Time Asset Locator and IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server software, including the IBM Returnable Container Management Application.
“We now leverage our RFID investment to provide data for the business analytics we use to significantly improve our business, both on the bottom-line and operationally.”
The Opportunity
This large automotive manufacturer invests millions of dollars annually in reusable shipping containers. Optimizing their utilization, extending their life spans and tracking and analyzing their movements were critical, both from a bottom-line and operational perspective. Fifty company facilities were already equipped with plant-based Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems, but extrapolating business analytics—the state, condition and utilization of containers within the facility—from raw RFID data was a manual, spreadsheet-based process. The company needed to gain real-time visibility into critical analytics, ensuring full utilization and avoiding the unnecessary and costly purchase of additional containers.
What Makes It Smarter
RFID has proven to be an invaluable tool in asset tracking and supply chain management. With new asset management systems configured to leverage the company’s previous investment in active RFID tags and RFID readers, the company is able to gain actionable business intelligence from real-time container tracking data. The automated asset management system aggregates all locations and container serial numbers of both ingoing and outgoing containers at every step of a container’s journey through the supply chain, providing decision makers with the current location of each container, its intended use and any unused capacity. Such real-time visibility into the location, utilization and condition of these critical physical and operational assets allows the company to extend the life span of its container inventory, identify inefficiencies within its global distribution processes and reduce its capital expenditures by optimizing container usage.
What if you could ensure that your returnable container inventory was always fully utilized?
Real Business Results
• Reduces capital costs by optimizing the utilization of returnable containers and eliminating the purchase of unnecessary containers, achieving ROI in less than 12 months
• Provides real-time insights into supply chain performance, increasing operational efficiency
• Reduces capital expenditures by optimizing the utilization of returnable containers
Solution Components
• IBM InfoSphere Traceability Server, Returnable Container Management Application
• IBM Real-Time Asset Locator
• IBM eShipment Verification
• IBM WebSphere Sensor Events
• IBM Business Partner Zebra Technologies
For more information
Please contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business Partner. Visit us at: ibm.com/automotive
Components
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Software:
WebSphere Sensor Events, InfoSphere Traceability Server
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2011 IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504U.S.A. Produced in the United StatesJuly 2011All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, InfoSphere and WebSphere are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software.